If you are a sucker for hopeless romantics, you will absolutely fall in love with the Mortons.

I met Anthony about two years ago before he met the woman of his life; he and my husband are really close.  So, when he told us he’d found the woman of his dreams and was ready to propose, we knew we had to help him pull together their dream wedding.

The thing I loved about them was their minimalistic views: no bling or glam.  They just wanted their two families to come together as one and to be comfortable. Taylor, Anthony’s fiancé, wanted a small beach wedding surrounded by her closest friends and family.  Her only request was “to have those pretty white folding chairs and blue orchids.”

I’m not sure what hooked me most – talking to Anthony for hours in the coffee shop or the picture Taylor painted of their relationship – either way I was swept off my feet.  When they met, Anthony and Taylor were both active duty Marines stationed in Maryland. He was fresh out of boot camp checking into his military occupational specialty school and she was there for photojournalism school, as a Marine photographer.

Her assignment had been to capture different views of motion with people, when she met Anthony checking into school. Who knew the girl behind the lenses would be capturing moments of her future beau? From that day they were joined at the hip, you could find them hanging out around base, but Anthony was benched to “friend zone.” But, he says he immediately recognized her as the one and had no intention of staying in friend zone. He claims he couldn’t help but be persistent because her freckles and gorgeous hazel eyes had him on the edge. Taylor admits she was oblivious that he was gaga over her despite the hours he spent with her and Logan, her best friend and roommate.  And her obliviousness is the exact thing that made Anthony love her.

Their careers separated them: Anthony was assigned to North Carolina and Taylor to Virginia. Anthony kept in touch and traveled hours to spend time with her.  I don’t know about you girls, but how could someone like that not hold a special place in your heart.  Eventually, he won Taylor’s heart. According to Taylor, Anthony always knew what to say and was by her side when she needed him the most. “It was the small things he did,” she said.  For example, we had our first “fight”, and instead of him storming out, he stayed.  He. Stayed.  Seriously! Who does that?  He told me he wasn’t leaving until he knew I wasn’t mad anymore.  Oh, and being able to deal with the crazy shenanigans from me and my best friend was an added bonus.

I loved their story, but was hesitant at first about Taylor’s vision. I couldn’t see it panning out, but hey. At the end of the ceremony, the moms were laughing and sharing the couple’s excitement just as Taylor said. The joy and laughter continued well into the night after the reception, which was held at The Whiskey Kitchen – a local Virginia Beach restaurant.

Their advise

It’s been a year and with every Savy couple, we reach out to see how things are going.  Anthony and Taylor are happily married living in California with two fur babies.  We’ve had fun, Anthony says, I taught Taylor how to cook a mean Tamale!

Taylor’s advice for couples preparing to say I do is: “Find out what makes each other tick and what makes each other literally laugh out loud—be prepared to deal with the unexpected and be able to get through it together.  Remember, it’s not just you and your feelings anymore, you’re starting your family.  Also, say I love you more than you need to.”

Anthony’s advice: “If you really want to get to know someone drive with them in traffic and see how mad they get when they have bad directions and the GPS stops working!  If you can deal with that, then you can deal with anything that is thrown at you.  Figure out how to make that situation better even if it is by simply not saying anything at all, you’ve won!”

The Mortons were a joy to work with.  Congratulations and Happy Anniversary.  May your journey together be filled with many, many more great stories!

xoxox,

The Savy Girl